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;  INTERNATIOm  BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS 


JOHN.  BAR  R  Ei  T  T ,  O I  R  O  T  p  R 

;■  . '  ,  ■  ■'"■  r  rv'. 

^  r-  FRANPSCO  J.  YANES,  SECBETARY  r 


f. 

i' 


5 


i 


(Reprint  of  an  article  from  the  Monthly  Bulletin  of  the  International 
Bureau  of  American  Republics,  January,  1909) 


WASHINGTON,  b.  Ci  . 
ObvERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

'im.. 


INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS 

JOHN  BARREITT,  D  I  R  EL  C  T  O  R 
FRANCISCO  J.  YANES,  SECRETARY 


TOBACCO 


(Reprint  of 


an  article  from  the  Monthly  Bulletin  of  the  International 


Bureau  of  American  Republics,  January,  1909) 


WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1909 


HE  tobacco  crop  in  1907  amounted  almost  to  three 
billion  pounds.  Allowing  as  a  moderate  average 
25  cigars  and  100  cigarettes  to  the  pound,  this 
gives  an  annual  product  of  25,000,000,000  cigars, 
100,000,000,000  cigarettes  for  the  world's  con¬ 
sumption  during  the  year,  with  plenty  to  spare 
for  all  the  snuff,  chewing,  and  pipe  tobacco  de¬ 
manded  by  such  users  of  the  weed.  Assuming  that  the  total  popula¬ 
tion  of  the  world  is  1,600,000,000,  the  per  capita  employment  of 
tobacco  can  be  reasonably  calculated. 

The  discovery  by  Europeans  of  the  native  disposition  of  this  indige¬ 
nous  plant  was  cotemporary  with  the  discovery  of  America.  Colum¬ 
bus,  it  is  asserted,  noticed  the  Indians  drawing  in  smoke  from  a 
kind  of  pipe  and  exhaling  it  through  their  nostrils.  All  reports 
from  explorers  and  adventurers,  whether  in  the  southern  or  northern 
regions  of  the  new  continents,  contain  references  to  the  habits  the 
Indians  had  of  consuming  this  unknown  herb  in  one  way  or  another. 
Smoking  seems  to  have  been  most  general,  but  among  some  tribes 
it  was  chewed,  by  others  it  was  considered  a  sacred  drug  with  which 
to  produce  purging  and  emesis,  by  others  again  it  served  as  a  stimu¬ 
lant  or  narcotic.  All  Indians,  however,  agreed  that  tobacco  added 
greatly  to  their  physical  and  spiritual  well  being.  The  Spanish, 
the  Portuguese,  and  the  English  were  not  slow  to  adopt  the  habit 
in  vogue  wherever  they  found  it,  and  it  was  soon  introduced  into 
Europe.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  popularized  pipe  smoking  in  England 
by  the  method  principally  employed  in  the  regions  visited  by  his 
countrymen.  The  Portuguese  had  already  begun  the  cultivation  of 
the  plant  in  southern  Europe,  and  from  them  it  was  brought  in  1560 
to  France  by  Xicot,  avIio  studied  its  properties  in  a  scientific  way. 
From  Nicot  is  derived  the  word  nicotin,  the  essential  alkaloid  which 


characterizes  tobacco  wherever  grown.  Claims  have  been  made  that 
the  Chinese,  ages  before  the  discovery  of  America,  had  the  habit  of 
smoking,  but  that  they  used  tobacco  can  not  be  proved,  although  it 
is  not  improbable  that  some  similar  leaf  was  known  to  them.  Stx^.n- 
LEY,  in  his  expedition  across  the  center  of  darkest  Africa,  found  the 
natives  following  with  a  like  custom,  but  they  used  the  banana  or  a 


tobacco:  the  American  Indian gift  to  civilization.  53 

similar  leaf  in  their  pipes,  and  tobacco  was  not  found  where  the 
connection  with  the  white  man  could  not  be  traced. 

Eomance  and  poetry  were  associated  with  tobacco  perhaps  even 
more  in  its  earlier  years  than  to-day.  Some  of  Ealeigh’s  best  inter¬ 
views  with  Queen  Elizabeth  were  on  this  subject;  Ben  Jonson 
wrote  verses,  as  did  all  the  other  poets  of  his  time,  except  Shake¬ 
speare,  clubs  were  founded  solely  to  enjoy  it,  and  a  man''s  rating  in 
society  was  established  by  tobacco.  When  King  James’s  famous 


the  tobacco  plant  crowned  by  its  flower  and  blossoms. 

On  the  right  the  flower  has  been  removed,  but  the  suckers  are  developing.  Both  flower  and 
suckers  must  be  removed  to  prevent  the  plant  from  going  to  seed,  as  well  as  to  stimulate  the 
growth  of  the  leaf,  which  is  the  important  consideration  in  tobacco  culture. 


Counterblast  Against  Tobacco  ”  was  issued,  ‘‘  drinking  "  tobacco,  as 
smoking  was  then  often  called,  was  almost  universal  not  only  in  Eng¬ 
land  but  in  Europe.  One  of  the  most  famous  epigrams  of  the  time 
ran  thus: 


Sir  Walter  Raleigh !  name  of  worth, 

How  sweet  for  thee  to  know 
King  James,  who  never  smoked  on  earth, 
Is  smoking  down  below. 


54  INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


In  the  New  'World  the  romantic  side  of  it  was  coupled  with  a  very 
practical  influence  in  populating  the  Virginia  colonies.  The  whole 
region  of  the  James  had  given  itself  over  to  the  cultivation  of  tobacco, 
so  that  even  the  streets  of  the  towns  were  devoted  to  it,  and  manv 
young  men  went  out  as  settlers  and  led  rather  lonely  lives.  These 
young  men  had  plenty  of  tobacco,  but  no  money  or  sweethearts  with 
which  to  grace  a  home.  The  London  Comjiany ,  then  most  busily  engaged 
in  the  trade  between  England  and  Virginia,  devised  a  jilan  by  which  a 
cargo  of  young  women  of  good  social  position  was  sent  out  to  comfort 
the  young  men ;  there  was  to  be,  of  course,  no  coercion  of  any  kind, 
but  each  young  man  on  his  selection  of  and  acceptance  by  one  of  the 


ARRANGEMENT  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OF  TOBACCO  FLOWERS. 

The  structure  gives  evidence  that  tobacco  flowers  are  naturally  self-fertile. 

young  women  was  to  pay  to  the  company  “  120  lb.  waight  of  best 
leafe  tobacco,”  for  reimbursement.  The  first  cargo  Avas  such  a  suc¬ 
cess  that  others  folloAved,  and  no  complaint  Avas  heard  that  the  bar¬ 
gain  Avas  regretted  in  any  direction. 

A  plant  that  could  fasten  such  a  habit  upon  mankind,  Avhether 
ciAulized  or  unciAulized,  Avithin  the  short  space  of  four  hundred  years, 
and  become  knoAAUi  as  Avell  as  cultiA^ated  in  eA^ry  portion  of  the  earth, 
must  meet  an  essential  but  niA^sterious  Avant  of  the  human  bodA^  and 
mind.  The  origin  of  the  Avord  is,  hoAveA^r,  lost  in  obscurity.  Un¬ 
doubtedly  it  Avas  deriA^ed  from  the  islands  or  mainland  of  the  Tropics, 


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tobacco:  the  American  Indian’s  gift  to  civilization.  55 

and  is  purely  an  Indian  name.  In  all  languages  except  the  English 
the  first  vowel  is  but  the  o  is  popular  and  will  always  be  retained  by 
those  using  the  English  language.  The  difference  would  seem  insig¬ 
nificant,  but  one  who  is  not  aware  of  it  may  at  times  be  confused  by 
searching  through  various  classifications  under  the  wrong  letter. 

With  the  increasing  use  of  tobacco  in  all  its  preparations,  the  cul¬ 
ture  of  the  plant  has  been  established  over  wider  and  wider  areas, 
until  now  there  is  practically  no  country — civilized  or  uncivilized — 
where  it  is  not  to  some  extent  grown.  Indigenous  as  it  is  to  a  tropi¬ 
cal  climate,  the  tobacco  plant  has,  by  the  ingenuity  of  man,  been  com¬ 
pelled  to  adapt  itself  to  all  ranges  of  temperature,  so  that  it  is  found 
at  such  wide  extremes  as  the  region  of  the  equator  and  the  snow- 
covered  valleys  of  Canada  and  Sweden.  In  this  respect  it  resembles 
the  vine,  which  will  thrive  so  long  as  it  has  sunshine  for  a  few  months 
in  summer,  and  sufficient  moisture  to  nourish  the  rapidly  growing 
leaves. 

Tobacco  belongs  to  the  nightshade — Solanacex — family,  which  em¬ 
braces  many  of  the  best  known  domesticated  plants  and  vegetables, 
such  as  the  Irish  potato,  the  tomato,  eggplant,  red  pepper,  jimson 
weed,  and  henbane.  The  genus  Nicotiana  has  about  50  species,  but 
the  great  varieties,  the  Nicotiana  tabacnm  and  the  Nicotiana  rustica^ 
supply  nearly  all  the  tobacco  of  commerce.  There  is  a  variety  called 
jyersica^  but  the  Persian  tobacco  as  we  know  it  is  but  a  modification 
of  the  rnstica.  The  species  Nicotiana  tdbacum  is  more  generally  used 
than  the  others  in  every  part  of  the  world.  It  grows  from  2  to  8 
feet  in  height,  and  has  ovate,  oblong  or  lanceolate  leaves,  alternately 
attached  to  the  stalk  spirally;  these  leaves  measure  from  12  to  42 
inches  in  length  and  8  to  24  inches  in  width.  The  flowers  are  rose- 
colored  or  Avhite.  In  the  first  days  of  the  use  of  tobacco  each  brand 
was  known  more  by  the  place  of  growth  or  origin  than  by  any  other 
name,  but  to-day,  although  such  well-established  and  even  historical, 
distributive  titles  as  Virginia,  Maryland,  Carolina  tobacco,  etc.,  are 
retained,  many  older  terms  like  Trinidado,  or  Brazil,  have  been  quite 
forgotten.  A  better-understood  designation  is  that  of  the  character 
or  appearance  of  the  article  ready  for  consumption  or  preparation  by 
the  trade.  All  varieties  are  distinguished  from  one  another  by  the 
form,  color,  size,  and  texture  of  their  leaves;  by  their  fragrance, 
adaptability  to  soils  and  uses,  and  by  varying  aptitudes  to  secrete 
gums  and  oil}^  matter  while  ripening. 

Tobacco  is  grown  from  the  seeds  and  its  cultivation  does  not  differ 
materially  from  that  of  the  cabbage.  The  preparation  of  seed  for 
distribution  to  planters  is  an  important  part  of  the  industry,  because 
much  depends  upon  the  quality  of  seed  used,  and  the  appropriateness 
of  such  seed  for  the  particular  soil  and  climate  in  which  it  is  proposed 


56  INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


to  grow  it.  Tobacco  seeds  are  small,  and  plenty  of  them  are  needed 
to  insure  a  good  growth.  Moreover,  they  react  noticeably  to  in¬ 
fluences  of  soil,  producing  a  leaf  that  preserves  a  color  traceable  to 


(Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood.) 

A  TOBACCO  FIELD 

The  tobacco  field  must  be  constantly  watched  from  the  day  of  sowing  the  seed  or  setting  out  the 
young  plants  to  the  moment  the  leaf  is  carried  into  the  curing  house.  The  flowers  and  suckers 
must  be  removed  and  the  animal  enemies  of  all  kinds  must  be  killed  in  some  way.  Sometimes 
the  cost  of  this  eternal  vigilance  is  a  heavy  item  and  the  profits  to  the  planter  may  be  seriously 
reduced  by  his  efforts  to  bring  to  the  manufacturer  a  high  grade,  uninjured  leaf. 


the  coloring  matter  of  the  soil  in  which  it  grows.  The  plant  is  one 
also  that  crosses  readily,  so  that  it  may  be  easily  modifled  to  suit  local 
conditions,  but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  carefully  guarded  to  pre- 


tobacco:  the  American  Indian’s  gift  to  civilization.  57 


vent  accidental  crossing*.  The  cultivation  of  tobacco  for  its  various 
uses  has  received  as  careful  attention  as  that  of  any  agricultural 
industry,  and  the  Agricultural  Dej^artments  of  all  governments  have 
given  elaborate  study  to  the  question,  as  a  scientific  and  practical 
problem  vitally  concerning  all  farmers  and  producers  of  staple  crops. 
Each  year  the  plant  must  be  reared  from  the  beginning,  thus  re¬ 
sembling  wheat  and  potatoes,  and  differing  therefore  from  trees  or  the 


THE  TOBACCO  WORM. 

This  is  called  horn  worm  or  horn  blower  in  different  parts  of  the  country  and  is  the  caterpillar  of 
a  large  sphinx  moth.  It  eats  the  leaf  of  tobacco,  tomato,  and  allied  plants,  including  occasionally 
the  Irish  potato.  The  worm  is  green.  One,  two,  or  even  more  crops  of  worms  may  develop  in  a 
season.  The  long  beak  is  really  a  tongue  sheath  through  which  the  worm  sucks  the  nectar  of 
flowers.  Several  methods  of  destroying  this  enemy  are  known  and  practiced. 


vine.  Cultivation  in  every  detail  has  become  a  nicely  technical  pro¬ 
cedure,  every  step  being  carefully  controlled;  after  seeding,  and,  if 
this  is  adopted,  after  transplanting,  tobacco  must  be  fertilized,  and 
there  is  no  plant  so  susceptible  to  fertilization  as  tobacco.  The  de¬ 
mand  of  any  particular  variety  of  plant  for  its  natural  nourishment 
must  be  most  exactly  met,  or  poor  results  are  apt  to  follow.  Conse¬ 
quently  the  chemistry  of  plant,  soil,  and  fertilizer  has  become  almost 
C5357— Bull.  1—09 - 5 


58  INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


an  exact  science.  More  than  half  the  States  of  the  United  States  are 
engaged  in  the  production  of  the  leaf,  and  throughout  the  Union  new 
areas  are  brought  into  bearing,  because  analysis  has  shown  that  soil, 
seed,  and  food  can  be  so  combined  as  to  produce  a  commercially 
profitable  article.  Agriculture  experiment  stations  the  world  over 
are  showing  how  to  go  to  work  to  get  a  good  crop,  and  the  old  fear, 
ending  in  real  disaster  in  Virginia  many  years  ago,  that  the  soil 
would  become  exhausted  and  barren,  is  no  longer  im]3ending  over  the 
modern  farmer  who  studies  his  occupation  intelligently.  Perique 
tobacco,  produced  in  a  small  area  of  Louisiana,  settled  originally  by 


TOBACCO  BED  SHOWING  AWNING  FRAME. 

A  seed  bed  in  which  the  tobacco  plant  is  cultivated  before  it  is  transplanted.  This  method  is 
adopted  for  delicate  leaf  grown  from  the  seed  and  develops  the  resistant  quality  in  the  mature 
plant. 

the  Acadians,  is  an  exception,  in  that  it  will  not  grow  elsewdiere.  It 
demands  the  black  soil  of  these  bottoms  for  its  peculiar  flavor. 
Scarcely  more  than  50,000  pounds  a  year  of  Perique  measure  the 
world’s  crop. 

Various  expressions  are  used  to  denote  the  processes  employed 
in  the  different  stages  of  cultivation.  Topping  is  the  term  im¬ 
plying  the  removal  of  the  seed  head;  this  is  done  to  divert  the 
vitality  of  the  plant  from  its  essentially  physiologic  function — the 
IDerpetuation  of  the  species — to  the  development  of  the  leaf.  Suckers 
are  thrown  out  at  the  place  of  topping,  and  these,  too,  must  be  removed 


TOBACCO:  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN’S  GIFT  TO  CIVILIZATION.  59 


promptly.  This  applies  as  well  to  the  method  by  which  the  strength 
of  the  leaves  is  maintained  bv  restricting  their  number.  If  seeds  are 
to  be  gathered  certain  plants  must  be  set  apart  from  others  and  these 
cultivated  with  special  reference  to  this  purpose.  AVhen  the  leaf  is 
ripe  it  is  harvested.  The  length  of  time  between  topping  and  harvest¬ 
ing  varies  greatly,  and  experience  is  needed  to  decide  on  the  proper 
color  and  firmness  at  which  to  begin.  Cutting  or  priming  is  the 
term  by  which  is  understood  the  process  of  gathering  the  leaves  for 
curing.  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  steps  in  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco.  It  must  be  done  on  a  dry  day,  so  that  the  leaf  will  be 
clean,  unspotted,  and  free  from  fungus.  According  to  the  habit  of 
the  country  or  district  the  leaves  are  now  placed  in  a  basket  or  hung 
on  a  board  or  wire,  and  allowed  to  wilt.  Then  it  is  cured.  Curing 
is,  of  course,  the  step  w^hich  changes  the  product  from  a  mere  agri¬ 
cultural  to  a  purely  commercial  commodity.  Tobacco  must  not  be 
i:)ermitted  to  sweat,  which  really  means  the  growth  of  fungus,  for  if 
fungus  once  starts  in  a  warehouse,  it  is  liable  to  spread  throughout 
all  the  stock ;  neither  must  it  ferment  too  soon,  for  the  result  will  be 
the  same,  or  lead  to  evils  equally  as  disastrous.  Proper  fermenta¬ 
tion  is  an  art  and  must  be  controlled  by  an  expert  whose  personal 
judgment  has  been  tested  by  long  handling  of  tobacco  in  all  stages. 
The  technical  process  is  called  pressing,  but  does  not  necessarily  imply 
that  the  leaves  themselves  are  subjected  to  great  pressure;  they  are 
weighted  down  by  themselves  in  a  receptacle  constructed  for  that 
purpose,  the  change  taking  place  now,  due  to  action  of  enzymes  rather 
than  to  bacteria  (as  was  once  thought),  being  one  of  ripening,  as  it 
were,  through  heat  and  moisture. 

This  fermentation  process  develops  in  the  tobacco  leaves  the  char¬ 
acteristic  qualities  of  the  commercial  article.  Fermentation  follows 
immediately  after  curing  when  both  are  done  by  the  grower,  but 
where  the  cured  tobacco  is  bought  up  by  manufacturers  several 
months  may  pass  before  it  is  subjected  to  the  latter  process.  When 
tobacco  is  ready  for  manufacture  into  its  finished  condition  for  con¬ 
sumption,  the  amount  of  nicotin  is  relatively  unimportant,  and  it 
is  certain  that  the  excellence  of  the  leaf  and  its  adaptability  are  not 
dependent  upon  it.  If  the  prime  object  of  tobacco  culture  were  the 
production  of  nicotin,  as  the  prime  object  of  raising  sugar  beets  is 
the  production  of  sugar,  then  the  amount  of  nicotin  might  be  forced 
by  the  use  of  nitrogenous  fertilizers,  but  nicotin  alone  no  more  makes 
a  good  tobacco  than  does  alcohol  alone  make  a  good  wine.  The  flavor 
and  aroma  are  much  more  important. 

Classification  of  the  leaves  now  takes  place,  although  some  selec¬ 
tion  has  taken  place  in  the  earlier  stages.  A  division  popularized  by 
long  use  separates  them  according  to  their  color  into :  Claro,  light 


60  INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

brown ;  Colorado  claro,  broAvnish  yelloAv ;  Colorado,  brown ;  Colo¬ 
rado  inaduro,  dark  broAAni ;  Maduro,  dark.  This  has  applied  largely 
to  the  AAU’appers,  but  Sumatra  and  other  leaves  are  to-day  more  freely 
employed  for  Avrappers,  and  as  fashion  noAV  admits  that  a  good  cigar 
is  something  besides  a  Avrapper,  and  that  a  good  Avrapper  may  possess 
other  qualities  than  color,  adherence  is  not  ahvays  giA^en  to  the  aboA^e 


classification.  This  Avhole  question  is  one  decided  ultimately  by  the 
manufacturer  and  the  consumer,  the  latter  exercising  his  taste,  the 
former  his  judgment.  Taste  takes  the  direction  of  strength,  aroma, 
moisture  or  dryness,  and  appearance  .of  the  finished  article,  Avhether 
cigar  or  cigarette;  judgment  is  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  manu¬ 
facturer  in  deciding  not  only  these  points,  but  also  the  questions  of 


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TOBACCO:  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN’S  GIFT  TO  CIVILIZATION.  61 

quality,  and  serviceability  for  filler,  binder,  and  wrapper ;  both  taste 
and  judgment  unite  in  demanding  that  a  tobacco  when  used  for  smok¬ 
ing  purposes  must  have  a  good  burn.  Burning  quality  is  the  most 
important  requirement  for  a  first-class  smoking  tobacco. 

Variation  in  burning  qualities  must  be  sought  in  differences  in 
chemical  composition,  which,  as  has  been  said,  is  greatly  influenced 
by  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  climate,  the  season,  and  the  kind  of 
fertilizer  used.  Moreover,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  certain 
strains  of  tobacco  possess  the  power  of  appropriating  from  the  soil 
those  constituents  conducive  to  a  good  burn,  while  other  closely  re¬ 
lated  types  under  the  same  conditions  are  lacking  this  power.  In  ad¬ 
dition  to  the  growing  of  tobacco,  the  curing  and  fermentation  of  the 
leaf  are  important  factors  in  developing  a  good  burn.  This  is  a  com¬ 
prehensive  term,  including  such  elements  as  fire-holding  capacity. 


I=’F?OIDLJCZT  lOlNI 


a-400.000.000  1  2,420.000.000  I  Z.lSO.OOO.OCOl  Z.  ZOO.000.000  I  2.2,23.000.000  [lbE 


evenness  of  burn,  and  character  of  the  ash.  The  fire-holding  capacity 
refers  to  the  length  of  time  the  tobacco  will  keep  alight ;  but  it  should 
burn  evenly,  and  have  no  great  tendency  to  coal  in  advance  of  the 
burning  area.  In  some  cases  defects  are  due  to  injudicious  combina¬ 
tions  of  filler,  binder,  and  wrapper.  In  the  best  smoking  tobacco  the 
ash  should  be  a  uniform  gray  or  white,  and  show  a  decided  cohesive¬ 
ness.  Good  tobacco  will  not  burn  with  a  flame,  but  will  continue  to 
glow  almost  indefinitely  when  once  it  is  lighted.  The  “  burn,”  the  de¬ 
ciding  factor  in  tobaccos,  has  had  an  immense  amount  of  chemical 
study  devoted  to  it  for  more  than  fifty  years,  but  as  yet  no  one  has 
been  able  to  offer  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  conduct  of  different 
kinds  of  tobacco  as  regards  their  burning  qualities.  One  fact  is  notice¬ 
able,  however,  in  comparing  the  composition  of  the  tobacco  plant  with 


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(Copyright  by  Underwood  &  Underwood.) 


TOBACCO:  THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN’S  GIFT  TO  CIVILIZATION.  63 


that  of  other  agricultural  crops;  it  has  a  remarkably  high  content  of 
mineral  matter,  commonly  called  the  ash.  On  the  average  this  ash 
is  well  above  15  per  cent  of  the  total  weight  of  the  dry  leaf,  and  a 
distinct  relation  is  demonstrable  between  the  mineral  constituents  of 
the  ash  and  its  good  or  poor  burning  qualities.  Two  undisputed  facts 
have  resulted  from  innumerable  studies  made  in  this  regard,  and 
these  are  that  chlorin  injures  the  fire-holding  capacity  of  the  leaf, 
while  potash  favors  this  property;  these  facts,  however,  are  insuffi¬ 
cient  in  themselves  to  explain  fully  the  burning  qualities  of  different 
samples  of  tobacco.  Yet  the  ultimate  analysis  indicates  that  potash 
salts,  in  due  combination  with  calcium  and  magnesium,  produce  the 
best  ash  and  give  that  desired  burn  which  characterizes  the  highest 
priced  leaf  in  the  tobacco  trade. 


or  THE  TOTAL  WORLD'S  TOBACCO  C  ROP  TtiD 

FOLLOWING  PROPORTIONS  APE  PRODUCED  BV  PAH-AMERICA 

(exclusive  or  Canada) 


When  the  leaf  has  been  delivered  to  the  manufacturer  it  is  con¬ 
verted  into  cigars,  cigarettes,  pipe,  chewing  and  smoking  tobacco. 
Smoking  and  chewing  were  the  aboriginal  methods  by  which  native 
Americans  consoled  and  stimulated,  or  at  times  physicked  them¬ 
selves  with  the  plant.  A  crude  pipe  from  which  smoke  Avas  draAvn 
up  into  the  nostrils  Avas  the  implement  first  seen  by  the  Spaniards. 
On  the  mainland,  especially  in  AAdiat  is  now  the  United  States,  a  pipe 
on  present  day  lines  was  used,  and  had  great  symbolic  significance 
at  councils  of  peace  or  Avar.  Within  the  Tropics — in  Mexico  and 
Central  America — the  dried  leaf  Avas  rolled  upon  itself  to  form  the 
prototype  of  the  modern  cigar,  and  in  other  places  corn  husks  Avere 
the  containers,  someAvhat  larger  than  the  shuck  cigarette  smoked 


64  INTEKNATIONAL  BUKEAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


SO  commonly  by  Mexicans,  Central  Americans,  and  Brazilians.  The 
pipe  was  the  vehicle  adopted  by  the  English,  and  all  the  old  prints 
illustrating  smoking  in  early  days  show  only  the  pipe  in  the  mouths 
or  hands  of  the  devotees  of  tobacco.  Chewing  is  undoubtedly  a 
habit  inherited  from  the  time  Avhen  the  medicinal  effect  Avas  con¬ 
sidered  of  immense  value  in  the  use  of  tobacco,  for  its  stimulant  quali¬ 
ties  Avere  held  by  the  Indians  to  folloAV  a  small  dose,  or  to  be  a  desired 
result  of  the  immediate  prostration  produced  by  a  larger  quantity. 
As  Europeans  found  that  effects  Avere  thus  obtained,  tobacco  in 
some  preparation  for  mastication  Avas  popularized  for  use  by  those 
who  could  not  get  a  pipe  or  cigar  AvheneA^er  it  Avas  desired.  Snuff 
taking  Avas  discoA^ered  among  the  Brazilian  Indians,  and  they  Avere 


WORLD’S  PRODUCCTION  OF  TOBACCO 

rOR  ONE  VERR 


JX<>rtK^ntcrica 

vLtntral 

anjcltKjei>thcrWeat  ^ndite 


I Z  3.000.000  LBS. 


ZS.OOO.OOOLBS.  2., 000.000  LDS. 


its  best  fabricators.  Their  taste  in  this  matter  Avas  as  pure  as  that 
of  the  fashionable  Avorld  of  the  East,  and  the  snuff  they  made  has 
iieA^er  been  surpassed  nor  their  apparatus  for  making  it.  This  habit 
Avas  introduced  into  Europe  by  the  Portuguese,  and  popularized  in 
Erance  and  the  north  by  Catherine  de  Medici.  Ladies  took  snuff, 
and  probably  ladies  occasionally  smoked,  but  practically  no  mention 
is  made  of  Avomen  smoking,  and  as  a  general  habit  Avomeii  seem  to 
have  resorted  to  it  very  sparingly.  The  ungallant  rumor  current 
among  many  that  the  ladies  of  Latin  America  quite  as  commonly 
as  the  men  are  seen  Avith  cigar  or  cigarette  betAveen  their  lips  is 
unfounded  and  uiiAvarranted.  IVomen  of  the  peon  class  are  met 
Avith  pipe  or  cigarette  as  a  companion;  in  the  public  places  of  the 


A  CURING  HOUSE. 

After  the  tebacco  leaves  are  picked  they  are  transported  into  the  barn  or  coring  house.  This  bnilding  is  to-day  constructed  on  modern  principles, 
and  is  intended  to  offer  the  most  advantageous  arrangement  for  pressing  and  fermenting  the  leaf  ready  for  the  manufacturer. 


66  INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

haut  ton,  as  in  similar  resorts  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  it  may  be  the 
fashion  for  ladies  to  join  in  the  trick  of  smoking,  but  the  more 
acquainted  one  becomes  with  the  intimate  social  life  of  Latin  Amer¬ 
ica,  the  more  is  one  astonished  that  credence  could  ever  have  been 
given  to  the  fiction  that  women  here  habitually  indulged  in  tobacco. 

The  physiologic  effects  of  tobacco  have  been  discussed  ever  since 
it  was  first  used  by  civilized  man.  The  Indians  knew  the  symptoms 
it  caused,  but  were  satisfied  to  ascribe  them  to  the  mysterious  power 
influencing  all  life  about  them  and  questioned  no  further.  But  the 
attacks  upon  the  habitual  consumption  of  the  iireiiared  leaf  have 


TOBACCO  CURING  HOUSE. 

Within  the  curing  house  several  processes  are  carried  on  before  the  tobacco  is  ready  for  the  manu¬ 
facturer.  The  leaves  are  resorted  now  to  grade  them  as  to  quality,  and  they  must  be  delicately 
handled  to  prevent  any  injury  that  might  reduce  the  grade  to  which  ariy  leaf  originally  be¬ 
longed.  Only  hand  labor  can  be  used  for  this  purpose  and  decided  skill  is  required. 

had  practically  no  restraining  force,  and  there  is  no  gauge  of  civili¬ 
zation  so  generally  applicable  throughout  the  world  as  that  of  the 
consumption  of  tobacco.  A  substantial  agreement  has  to-day  been 
reached  among  scientists  that  tobacco — this  does  not  mean  the  alka¬ 
loid  nicotin — is  not  the  poison  it  was  once  supposed  to  be.  In  fact, 
tobacco  leaf  can  be  grown  and  cured  with  an  almost  imperceptible 
proportion  of  nicotin,  and  this  meets  the  requirements  of  the  con¬ 
sumers’  taste  even  better  than  a  tobacco  strong  in  nicotin.  It  is 
therefore  the  aroma  in  the  smoke,  and  the  essential  oils  in  the  leaf, 
Avhich  perpetuate  the  habit  and  stimulate  the  intellectual  desire 


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68  INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

to  enjoy  the  narcotic  effects  resulting  from  the  properly  prepared 
article.  Eaw  tobaccos  are  strong,  but  they  are  not  liked;  on  the 
other  hand,  delicately  cured  tobaccos  bring  the  highest  price  and 
enjoy  the  longest  reputation.  This  indicates  that  the  effect  sought 
is  altogether  on  the  mind  and  imagination  and  not  at  all  upon  the 
body.  The  use  of  tobacco  is  therefore  differentiated  at  once  from 
the  habitual  use  of  any  other  drug.  It  has  no  demonstrable — that  is, 
no  organic  effect  upon  the  body.  It  does  irritate  the  heart  and  upset 
the  digestive  organs  if  taken  too  often  or  without  judgment,  but 
this  effect  is  altogether  functional  and  disappears  as  soon  as  the 
habit  is  discontinued.  That  form  of  blindness  called  tobacco 


A  READER  IN  A  CIGAR  FACTORY  IN  CUBA. 


Every  large  cigar  factory  employs  a  professional  reader,  who  reads  from  books  or  newspapers 
selected  by  the  workers,  to  hold  their  attention  on  the  work  and  prevent  conversation  or 
argument  between  the  operatives.  He  sits  on  a  raised  platform  above  the  heads  of  his  hearers, 
centrally  located  in  the  room,  where  all  may  hear  him. 

amblyopia  comes  from  the  almost  constant  use  of  the  cigar  or  from 
the  roughest  kinds  of  tobacco  smoked  in  a  pipe.  The  consequences 
here  may  be  permanent  and  disastrous,  but  immediate  attention  to 
the  early  symptoms  will  restore  the  eyesight  unimpaired.  Tobacco 
seems  not  to  weaken  the  moral  fiber  of  the  one  who  uses  it,  and  there 
is  need  only  of  a  firm  effort  of  will  to  relinquish  the  habit,  if  the 
individual  so  desires;  in  these  respects  it  is  essentially  superior  to 
all  other  drugs.  Another  argument  in  its  favor  is  that  the  narcotic 
or  stimulant  effect  of  tobacco  seems  to  be  satisfied  within  itself; 
other  drugs  arouse  a  craving  from  a  still  more  violent  excitant,  but 
the  probability  is  that  if  mankind  were  deprived  of  tobacco  his 


tobacco:  tpie  American  Indian’s  gift  to  civilization.  69 


physique  Mould  suifer  by  indulgence  in  other  drugs  infinitely  more 
powerful  and  pernicious. 


(Photo  by  Underwood  &  Underwood.) 

A  CIGARETTE  FACTORY. 

Cigarettes  are  to-day  made  largely  by  machinery,  which  has  to  a  great  extent  displaced  the  hand 
labor,  once  the  universal  rule  in  factories.  Machines  are  even  made  to  place  the  cigarettes  in 
the  box  ready  for  the  consumer,  but  the  employment  of  women  for  this  purpose  is  still  custom¬ 
ary  in  the  older  centers  of  the  trade.  This  is  altogether  piecework,  and  women  become  mar¬ 
velously  expert  in  their  occupation. 


The  tobacco  plant,  like  all  living  things,  has  its  parasites,  but  it 
has  no  enemies  peculiar  to  itself;  it  sutfers,  therefore,  only  from 


70  INTEKNATIONAL  BUEEAU  OF  THE  AMEKICAH  REPUBLICS. 

attacks  by  insects  that  could  thrive  on  other  plants  equally  \Yell. 
From  the  time  the  seed  is  sown  until  the  leaf  reaches  the  consumer 
there  is  danger  from  some  enemy.  The  flea  bug  or  flea  beetle,  the 
tobacco  worm  or  hornblower,  the  bud  worm,  and  a  host  more,  feed 
on  the  gimwing  leaf.  Other  insects  like  the  cigarette  beetle  are  in¬ 
jurious  to  cured  tobacco,  and  feed  on  all  preparations  made  from  it; 
they  hatch  in  factories  and  warehouses.  For  all  these  there  are 
fortunately  successful  remedies,  destructive  to  the  insects  but  not 
harmful  to  the  tobacco. 

Every  Republic  represented  in  the  International  Union  of  American 
Republics  is  a  grower  of  tobacco.  Every  country  has  a  large  com¬ 
merce  in  the  leaf  and  the  manufactured  article;  every  Government 
draws  an  important  part  of  its  revenue  from  the  tobacco  trade  going 
on  within  or  across  its  borders.  Tobacco  is  used  by  a  greater  number 
of  people  and  among  more  nations  than  any  other  cultivated  product 
of  the  earth,  and  it  is,  with  the  exception  of  tea,  the  most  highly 
taxed  substance  in  the  world.  In  1907  the  United  States  derived 
$78,000,000  from  the  internal-revenue  and  customs  receipts  on  this 
article,  and  other  Governments  profit  likewise.  The  inhabitants  of 
every  country  have  their  own  fashion  of  smoking  and  of  preparing 
the  leaf  for  consumption.  Machine  labor  is  displacing  hand  labor, 
and  therefore  the  varying  shapes  of  cigars  or  cigarettes  once  char¬ 
acteristic  of  any  country  are  gradually  yielding  to  a  more  uniform 
product,  but  the  tobacco  itself  is  growing  superior  year  by  year  and 
the  smoker  may  rest  content  that  wherever  he  goes  he  will  find  an 
excellent  tobacco  from  the  local  fields. 


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